I have had a hard few days. Just believing lies and such and sinking into my melancholy state of mind;)
But tonight, in an effort to combat those lies with TRUTH!!! I turned to God's word. As I have mentioned before, because I have been blessed (cursed?) with crazy emotions, I strongly believe that truth and emotion are two separate things, and tonight I needed a good dose of truth.
I opened to 2 Samuel to read the words of David who is praising God for delivering him from his enemies (those pesky Giants that kept wanting to kill him, I suppose). Though I have no true giants facing me tonight, often times my emotions can seem a bit giant, looming over me, crippling me, so I find great comfort in David's words.
The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer,
my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge,
my shield, and the horn of my salvation,
my stronghold and my refuge,
my savior, you save me from violence.
I call upon the Lord who is worthy to be praised,
and I am saved from my enemies...
In my distress I called upon the Lord;
to my God I called.
From his temple he heard my voice,
and my cry came to his ears.
Then the earth reeled and rocked;
the foundations of the heavens trembled
and quaked, because he was angry.
Smoke went up from his nostrils,
and devouring fire from his mouth;
glowing coals flamed forth from him...
He sent from on high, he took me;
he drew me out of many waters.
He rescued me from my strong enemy,
from those who hated me,
for they were too mighty for me.
They confronted me in the day of calamity,
but the Lord was my support.
He brought me out into a broad place;
he rescued me, because he delighted in me.
2nd Samuel 22: 2-4, 7-9, 17-20
I love this image. I can see a picture of myself drowning in lies and emotions, arms flailing about, hoping for someone to take notice and rescue me. And here is this idea that not only does God take notice, but he is so angry that these lies would be fed to me that the earth quakes and the heavens shake and fire shoots out of his mouth. That is a picture of a mighty God, is it not? And the best part, he comes swooping down to rescue me. And why does he come swooping down to rescue me from these enemies (lies) that are too mighty for me, because he delights in me. He delights in these emotions that He created. Now that is a truth worth sitting in and meditating on and clinging to with all my might. I am so thankful that I know Him and that He calls me his own. There is such hope in that. Such LIFE.
Showing posts with label reflections. Show all posts
Showing posts with label reflections. Show all posts
Monday, May 11, 2009
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Reflecting on 2008
This list of questions is courtesy of Simple Mom, a blog I faithfully read.
I like these questions because they force me to look back at the year and really consider what I would like to do differently in 2009, instead of just pulling a few resolutions out of the air. I already have a few "new year's resolutions" in mind, but I think it will be beneficial to look back at the year before announcing those resolutions to the world. So, here we go...
1. What is the single best thing that has happened in 2008?
oh man, so many good things happened, there is no way I can name just one.
In February we moved into our first house, and soon after we found our church, which we love. In April, we celebrated two years of marriage, and in August we celebrated one year of Ada's life, and one year of motherhood. We started our total money makeover, and I have learned so much about budgeting and distinguishing between need and want. I learned how to coupon and play the CVS game. And just when the budget got too tight to bear, I started tutoring in the evenings after Scott arrived home from work. How can I name one thing? Our cup runneth over.
2. What was the most challenging thing?
In many ways, the challenging parts of the year have been a result of the good things. It has been challenging to manage our budget and still feed and clothe the family in a way that suits our tastes. It has been challenging to be a stay at home mom day in and day out. It has been challenging to tutor every night when I want to relax with Scott. All of these things have been very good things, but they have certainly been a challenge. But what is life without challenges?
Simple mom provides 20 questions to reflect on, but I, of course, will not answer all of those questions in this post. I do plan to think through all 20, though. I will post answers to a few more.
3. What was the most enjoyable area of managing your home?
I have grown to really enjoy budgeting, couponing, and meal planning. I feel like I am good at it, and therefore I enjoy it. It has been a process, and I certainly have not arrived, but it has become a fun "hobby" of sorts.
4. What has been the least enjoyable aspect of home management?
Cleanliness and organization--by far the most challenging aspect!! I am NOT. A. GOOD. HOUSEKEEPER. I can't do it ya'll. It's the perfectionist in me. I am an all or nothing kind of girl, so if the kitchen is a mess, and I know that there is no way for me to clean the entire kitchen in the 15 minutes or so of free time that I have, I don't even bother to do one small thing, such as unload the dishwasher. I have to find more balance in my housekeeping methods, or we might all go insane, or at least drown underneath the piles of clean laundry and dirty dishes.
5. What was your single biggest time waster this year?
Yikes. I have to say the computer. Oh man. I have done so good with my television watching because we said good-bye to cable, but this computer is sucking up my time in vast quantities. Ouch. Didn't want to have to think about that. This question might work its way into my new year's resolutions. We'll see.
6. What was the biggest thing you learned this year?
Well, that is going to take some more reflecting. But for now, I will say this, His grace is sufficient. He shows up every single day, and he cares about the ins and outs of motherhood on a budget. And that's all I need to know.
I like these questions because they force me to look back at the year and really consider what I would like to do differently in 2009, instead of just pulling a few resolutions out of the air. I already have a few "new year's resolutions" in mind, but I think it will be beneficial to look back at the year before announcing those resolutions to the world. So, here we go...
1. What is the single best thing that has happened in 2008?
oh man, so many good things happened, there is no way I can name just one.
In February we moved into our first house, and soon after we found our church, which we love. In April, we celebrated two years of marriage, and in August we celebrated one year of Ada's life, and one year of motherhood. We started our total money makeover, and I have learned so much about budgeting and distinguishing between need and want. I learned how to coupon and play the CVS game. And just when the budget got too tight to bear, I started tutoring in the evenings after Scott arrived home from work. How can I name one thing? Our cup runneth over.
2. What was the most challenging thing?
In many ways, the challenging parts of the year have been a result of the good things. It has been challenging to manage our budget and still feed and clothe the family in a way that suits our tastes. It has been challenging to be a stay at home mom day in and day out. It has been challenging to tutor every night when I want to relax with Scott. All of these things have been very good things, but they have certainly been a challenge. But what is life without challenges?
Simple mom provides 20 questions to reflect on, but I, of course, will not answer all of those questions in this post. I do plan to think through all 20, though. I will post answers to a few more.
3. What was the most enjoyable area of managing your home?
I have grown to really enjoy budgeting, couponing, and meal planning. I feel like I am good at it, and therefore I enjoy it. It has been a process, and I certainly have not arrived, but it has become a fun "hobby" of sorts.
4. What has been the least enjoyable aspect of home management?
Cleanliness and organization--by far the most challenging aspect!! I am NOT. A. GOOD. HOUSEKEEPER. I can't do it ya'll. It's the perfectionist in me. I am an all or nothing kind of girl, so if the kitchen is a mess, and I know that there is no way for me to clean the entire kitchen in the 15 minutes or so of free time that I have, I don't even bother to do one small thing, such as unload the dishwasher. I have to find more balance in my housekeeping methods, or we might all go insane, or at least drown underneath the piles of clean laundry and dirty dishes.
5. What was your single biggest time waster this year?
Yikes. I have to say the computer. Oh man. I have done so good with my television watching because we said good-bye to cable, but this computer is sucking up my time in vast quantities. Ouch. Didn't want to have to think about that. This question might work its way into my new year's resolutions. We'll see.
6. What was the biggest thing you learned this year?
Well, that is going to take some more reflecting. But for now, I will say this, His grace is sufficient. He shows up every single day, and he cares about the ins and outs of motherhood on a budget. And that's all I need to know.
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